Identifying and treating emotional and behavioral problems among very young children through a family-based approach

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships program is a matching grants program designed to establish partnerships between the Foundation and local grantmakers in support of innovative, community-based projects that improve health and health care for underserved and vulnerable populations.When very young children experience serious emotional problems, their distress may take the form of inappropriate behaviors, such as acting aggressively at daycare, excessive rocking, or being extremely withdrawn. These behaviors in children, ages birth to five, often reflect family stress due to poverty or violence. This grant supports a family-centered approach to care for these vulnerable inner-city children that has been developed in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After a comprehensive home-based assessment, the multicultural staff develops highly individualized treatment plans for each child and the members of his or her family circle. These plans may include mental health consultations in child care centers and pediatricians' offices, care coordination and mental health treatment in the home, and even interventions outside of health care to address family needs such as heat or housing. Funding partners include the Children's Fund of Connecticut; United Way of Eastern Fairfield County; The New York Community Trust; Connecticut Health Foundation; William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund; Cohen and Wolfe, P.C.; and the Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation.